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Recipe
Momordica charantia
Goya champuru
I don't think it is the word "goya" itself, but another two words which are translated to "bitter melon". Everyone is familiar with this dish (I'm guessing)... It was one of the very first dishes I tried the very night that I arrived in Japan--- the taste is exactly as described, bitter.
My girlfriend tells me that it's healthy (her excuse for anything that I think has a 'challenging' taste...), another blog I read reads simply, This bitter melon is very popular in Japan and has a very tasty flavor.
Now normally, I don't use the word "bitter" and tasty in the same sentence. I've also read that due to it's bitter taste it was/is used to beat the heat during the summer months.
The other night I saw a tv tarento taking a bite of goya, and the look on his face was one that almost combined pain and the look of biting into a lemon... It was hard to tell honestly if he was enjoying it or not.
Before I came to Japan, I've had (shockingly to my gf), Aloe flavoured Calips... it tastes quite like aloe, I've had Aloe flavoured ice-cream as well... it tastes a bit like eating a plant that you shouldn't eat.
What's the fasicination with goya? Is it true that the healthiest things for you really are the worst tasting? I've not met any Japanese people who dislike goya--- I've met more people who dislike sea-cucumber---
Just wondering what peoples opinions are on this, (in my opinion), odd delicacy.
Recipe
Momordica charantia
Originally Posted by yukio_neko^_o
I hate it, but I can eat it...the wife on the other hand loves it and makes it quite often. It is originally an Okinawan dish, not a Japanese dish though.
I think I've only had the bitter melon(nigauri) once and didn't like it. Its skin is supposed to be full of vitamin C and for that, is highly regarded.
I wonder if there is a way to get the bitterness off somehow.
I'm about where CC1 is, aside from the wife part. The first and only time I had goya champuru was in Okinawa, and I choked it down for the "experience" of it, much like my run-ins with natto. I tend to think it'd be better over rice to sort of ease the bitterness, but that's just me.
Go Trojans!
Fight On!
I like it..
I triple salt the Goya to remove alot of the bitterness.
Even the plant looks like it doesn't want you to eat it. I thought in nature when plants tasted bitter it was supposed to be a survival mechanism--- I guess we showed that plant.
Goya is a word from the Okinawan dialect, in Japanese it is called "nigauri" which is a member of the "uri" family of vegetables including "kyuri" or cuccumber.
Goya is also eaten by many people from the Phillipines as well. It is high in Vitamin C and is said, (old-wives tales possibly) that it helps with building stamina.
Yes it is bitter but there are now numerous different varieties of goya available, some are much less bitter than others. The "white" variety of goya having the least bitterness that the dark green variety.
WHen preparing goya there is a rather easy way to get rid of at least 50% percent of the bitterness. First thinly slice the goya after removing the seeds and take some salt and kneed it into the sliced goya. Let it sit for about 10 to 15 minutes and then rinse thoroughly. This will remove much of the bitterness. Make sure you rinse it well or the chanpuru will be a bit salty for some. Making goya into "sukemono" is another way to break down the bitterness. Goya tempura is another way to eat the goya without all the bitterness as well.
Personally in my house, my goya chanpuru is better than my mother-in-law's and she is Okinawan.!
Dont forget it is supposedly good for the Diabetic.
I dare you to tell her that !Originally Posted by HachiroPersonally in my house, my goya chanpuru is better than my mother-in-law's and she is Okinawan.
With Katsuobushi on top!
My mother slapped this " heathy for you " excuse on me and elder siblings when we were little kids.I hated it,I would took a bite and spitted it out within seconds on the dining table without my mother serving me a head smacking of-course.
Her recipes are stir-fried bitter melon ( goya ) with assorted seafoods or pork and stuffed bitter melons.
